Object Decontamination Apparatus and Method

ABSTRACT

Provided is a decontamination apparatus including a base, and a source that emits UVC light at a suitable intensity to at least partially decontaminate a target object and render the target object pathogen reduced. An adjustable support is coupled to the base and includes an adjustment mechanism that can be manipulated to adjust a position of the source relative to the base. A controller is operatively connected to the source to control emission of the UVC light and establish at least one of a suitable duration of a decontamination process and a suitable intensity of UVC light to render the target object pathogen reduced.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of prior application Ser. No.16/148,597, filed Oct. 1, 2018, which is a continuation of priorapplication Ser. No. 14/807,974, filed Jul. 24, 2015, which is acontinuation of prior application Ser. No. 14/530,510, filed Oct. 31,2014, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/072,577, filed Oct. 30, 2014, all of which are incorporated in theirentirety herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This application relates generally to a decontamination method andapparatus and, more specifically, to an apparatus and method foremitting ultraviolet light onto surfaces of a room for decontaminationpurposes.

2. Description of Related Art

Surfaces in rooms at healthcare facilities are commonly exposed toinfectious organisms and other biologically-active contaminants(hereinafter generally referred to as “contaminants”) spread by thepatients who occupy those rooms. These contaminants can remain viable onthe contaminated surfaces to reproduce and infect others such assubsequent patients and/or visitors, for example, who enter the room andmake contact with those surfaces. In an effort to prevent the spread ofinfections, healthcare facilities must conduct decontaminationprocedures in the rooms as frequently as possible.

One example of a room where such contaminants are prevalent is aninpatient hospital room. Surfaces such as tray tables, bed rails, andtelevision remote controls frequently come into direct contact withpatients during their stay in the room. These surfaces should bedecontaminated frequently to avoid a buildup of contaminants andminimize the risk of spreading an infection from the patient to anotherperson who may come into contact with the surfaces. However, manuallydecontaminating such rooms is labor intensive, requiring personnel toadhere to strict guidelines governing the use of liquid disinfectants.Further, depending on the surfaces being decontaminated, it may not bepractical to provide the entirety of the surfaces with liquiddisinfectants in compliance with those guidelines.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect, the subject application involves adecontamination apparatus including a base, and a source that emits UVClight at a suitable intensity to at least partially decontaminate atarget object and render the target object pathogen reduced. Anadjustable support is coupled to the base and supports the source, theadjustable support including an adjustment mechanism that is manipulableto adjust a position of the source relative to the base. A range sensorsenses a property indicative of a distance separating the source of UVClight from the target object to be rendered pathogen reduced. Acontroller is operatively connected to the source to control emission ofthe UVC light. The controller is in communication with the range sensorto receive a signal indicative of the distance separating the sourcefrom the target object as sensed by the range sensor and includes avariable component that establishes at least one of a duration of adecontamination process and the suitable intensity of UVC light as afunction of the distance separating the source from the target object.

According to another aspect, the subject application involves adecontamination apparatus that includes a base, and a first armadjustably coupled to the base to allow an orientation of the first armto be adjusted relative to the base. The first arm includes alongitudinally-adjustable segment that allows a length of the arm to beadjusted. A first source is coupled adjacent to a distal end of thefirst arm, emits UVC light at a suitable intensity to at least partiallydecontaminate a first target object and render the first target objectpathogen reduced. A controller is operatively connected to the firstsource to control emission of the UVC light onto the first targetobject.

According to yet another aspect, the subject application involves adecontamination apparatus that includes a base, and a source that emitsUVC light at a suitable intensity to at least partially decontaminate atarget object and thereby render the target object pathogen reduced. Thesource includes a UVC bulb that is operable to emit the UVC light, and areflective shield arranged adjacent to the UVC bulb to reflect at leasta portion of the UVC light emitted by the UVC bulb generally away fromthe target object in a focused direction, generally toward the targetobject. The reflective shield includes a plurality of arcuate regions,each extending about a different axis with a different orientation. Anadjustable support is coupled to the base and supports the source. Theadjustable support includes an adjustment mechanism that can bemanipulated to adjust a position of the source relative to the base. Acontroller is operatively connected to the source to control emission ofthe UVC light by the source.

The above summary presents a simplified summary in order to provide abasic understanding of some aspects of the systems and/or methodsdiscussed herein. This summary is not an extensive overview of thesystems and/or methods discussed herein. It is not intended to identifykey/critical elements or to delineate the scope of such systems and/ormethods. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplifiedform as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presentedlater.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement ofparts, embodiments of which will be described in detail in thisspecification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form apart hereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a decontamination systeminstalled in an inpatient hospital room;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a source of a disinfecting agent in the formof UVC light, the source being provided adjacent to a terminal end of anarticulated arm and being viewed from the perspective indicated by line2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially-cutaway side view of the source taken along line3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view schematically depicting a controller of adecontamination system;

FIG. 5 shows a side view of an alternate embodiment of a decontaminationapparatus including a base in a stowed configuration for transportationof the decontamination apparatus;

FIG. 6 shows a side view of an alternate embodiment of a decontaminationapparatus including a base in a stowed configuration for transportationof the decontamination apparatus;

FIG. 7 shows the alternate embodiment of the decontamination apparatusappearing in FIG. 5 with the base in a deployed configuration in whichthe decontamination apparatus is to be used to decontaminate a surface;

FIG. 8 shows the alternate embodiment of the decontamination apparatusappearing in FIG. 6 with the base in a deployed configuration in whichthe decontamination apparatus is to be used to decontaminate a surface;

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a reflective shield for directing UVClight toward a target surface;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the reflective shield shown in FIG. 9taken along line 10-10; and

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the reflective shield shown in FIG. 9taken along line 11-11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to betaken as a limitation on the present invention. Relative language usedherein is best understood with reference to the drawings, in which likenumerals are used to identify like or similar items. Further, in thedrawings, certain features may be shown in somewhat schematic form.

It is also to be noted that the phrase “at least one of”, if usedherein, followed by a plurality of members herein means one of themembers, or a combination of more than one of the members. For example,the phrase “at least one of a first widget and a second widget” means inthe present application: the first widget, the second widget, or thefirst widget and the second widget. Likewise, “at least one of a firstwidget, a second widget and a third widget” means in the presentapplication: the first widget, the second widget, the third widget, thefirst widget and the second widget, the first widget and the thirdwidget, the second widget and the third widget, or the first widget andthe second widget and the third widget.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative embodiment of an inpatient room 1 in ahospital that is accessible through a door 6 separating the inpatientroom from a hallway, for example. The room 1 is provided with a patientbed 4 and a tray table 5 that can extend over the patient lying in thebed 4. Although not shown, the room 1 can also include other fixturesand features commonly found in inpatient rooms such as a television,health-monitoring equipment such as a heart-rate monitor, telephone,nightstand, etc. . . . Further, although the present disclosure focuseson the decontamination of items within an inpatient hospital room 1 forthe sake of clarity and brevity, the technology disclosed herein can beused to decontaminate objects located anywhere, such as in hotel roomsany other public accommodations.

Also disposed within the room 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a decontaminationapparatus 10 operable to at least partially decontaminate, or at leastrender pathogen reduced, contaminated surfaces such as the tray table 5within that room 1. The decontamination process can be initiatedmanually, and performed by the decontamination apparatus 10 on demand,and/or can optionally be initiated automatically according to apredetermined schedule when the room 1 is unoccupied, as determinedutilizing a plurality of sensors as described below.

Rendering the surfaces “pathogen reduced” with the decontaminationapparatus 10 does not necessarily require the subject surfaces to be100% sterile, free of any and all living organisms that can viablyreproduce. Instead, to be considered pathogen reduced, there must be alower level of living contagions on the decontaminated surfaces capableof reproducing or otherwise causing an infection after performance ofthe decontamination process than the level that existed on the surfacesprior to performance of the decontamination process. For example, theexposed surfaces in the bathroom can be considered to be pathogenreduced if at least a 1 log₁₀ reduction of such contagions on thesurfaces remain infectious (i.e., no more than 1/10th of thebiologically-active contagions originally on the exposed surfaces remainactive or infectious at a time when the decontamination process iscompleted) occurs. According to yet other embodiments, the surfaces canbe considered pathogen reduced once at least a 3 log₁₀ reduction (i.e.,1/1,000th) of such contagions on the surfaces is achieved.

Generally, the decontamination apparatus 10 includes one or a pluralityof sources 12 that direct a disinfecting agent toward the surface(s) tobe rendered pathogen reduced, a redundant occupant sensing system thatdetermines whether the room 1 is occupied or not, and a controller 16that interferes with emission of the disinfecting agent by the source(s)12 if the room 1 is, or becomes occupied based on a signal from theoccupant sensing system. Each source 12 can be any apparatus that emitsa disinfecting agent that, when exposed to the surfaces to render thoseexposed surfaces pathogen reduced. For the illustrative embodimentsdescribed herein and shown in the drawings, each source 12 is anultraviolet source that is to be energized to emit UVC light as thedisinfecting agent, and the surface to be rendered pathogen reduced isthe tray table 5.

As shown, each source 12 includes at least one, and optionally aplurality of UVC bulbs 14 (FIG. 2) coupled to a reflective shield 18coupled to an underside of a housing 20. The housing 20 can be pivotallycoupled to a distal end of an articulated arm 22 or other suitablesupport that allows the housing 20, and accordingly the bulbs 14, to bepivoted about a rotational axis in the directions indicated by arrow 21and otherwise positioned in a suitable position relative to the traytable 5 to achieve the desired level of decontamination within apredetermined period of time, once activated.

According to the embodiment in FIG. 1, each arm 22 has a portionincluding an adjustable length extending generally away from a baseportion 25, which can be facilitated by an external member 24 thattelescopically receives an internal member 26, or other suitable lengthadjustment mechanism (e.g, sliding track, etc. . . . ). A locking member27 such as a spring-biased pin urged toward a locking position, etc. . .. can be provided to one or both of the external and internal members24, 26 to maintain a desired length of the arm 22, once manuallyestablished. A hinge 28 or other connector suitable to allow angularadjustment of the arm 22 relative to the base 25 can be disposed betweenthe base 25 and the arm 22. A bendable joint 30 can also be providedanywhere along the length of the arm 22, such as adjacent to the distalend of the arm 22 where the housing 20 is supported. The joint 30 can beformed from a plastically-deformable flexible material that can bemanually bent to position the housing 20, yet be sufficiently rigid tomaintain the position of the housing relative to the arm 22 once thebending force has been removed. Further, a hinge 32 can also optionallybe positioned along the arm 22 before and/or after the joint 30 to allowfurther adjustment of the position of the housing 20 and bulbs toachieve the desired coverage of the tray table 5 with UVC light. As withany of the hinges described herein, the hinge(s) 32 can be selectivelylockable, meaning a locking member such as a set screw, for example, canbe loosened to allow the structures coupled to opposite sides of thehinge(s) 32 to be pivotally adjusted relative to each other. Once thedesired adjustment has been completed, the set screw or other lockingmember can be tightened to interfere with further pivotal adjustment ofthe structures relative to each other.

The base 25 supports the arms 22 at a desired elevation above the floor7 of the room 1. The base 25 supports the controller 16 that can bemanipulated by a user to control operation of the decontaminationapparatus 10 (e.g., independently control operation of each source 12 toemit UVC light, optionally to cause one source 12 to remain energizedlonger than another one of the sources 12), and optionally houses anon-board power supply such as a rechargeable battery bank 37 storingelectric energy that can be used to energize the bulbs 14 and power thecontroller 16. Being relatively heavy, the battery bank 37 can be housedwithin a recess defined by a lower cap 39 of the base 25 comprising anarcuate bottom surface 41 that rests on the floor 7. The arcuate bottomsurface 41 allows the decontamination apparatus to wobble, if necessary,to properly position the bulbs 14 for a decontamination process. Thebase 25, or another portion fo the decontamination apparatus canoptionally be provided with an accelerometer, tip sensor, gyroscope orother type of monitoring device that can sense when the decontaminationapparatus 10 has been picked up, falls over, moved or otherwisedisturbed. In such events, an active decontamination process can beterminated and a new decontamination process can be prevented from beinginitiated. The lower cap 39 can be threadedly connected to the base 25so as to be removable, and optionally interchangeable. For removableembodiments, the lower cap 39 can be unscrewed from the base 25 to grantaccess to the battery bank 37. A depleted battery bank 37 can then beremoved from the decontamination apparatus 10 and replaced with acharged battery bank 37. For embodiments where the battery bank 37 isintegrated into the lower cap 39, the lower cap with the depletedbattery bank 37 can be replaced in its entirety with another lower cap39 with a charged battery bank 37. According to alternate embodiments,the decontamination apparatus can include a power cord that is to beplugged into an AC mains electric outlet supplied by an electric powerutility to obtain the electric energy needed to power thedecontamination apparatus 10.

The base 25 can also optionally be provided with a connector, shown inFIG. 1 as a hook 35 that is generally shaped to resemble an upside-down“L”. The hook 35 can be placed over a receiver or other portion of acart hauling cleaning supplies, for example, or any other transportvehicle, to allow transportation of the decontamination apparatus 10throughout the hospital for use in a plurality of different rooms 1.

The embodiments of the base 25 are described above as a static structurethat supports the arms 22 at a desired elevation above the floor 7 ofthe room 1 and optionally housing a battery bank 37. However, alternateembodiments of the base 25′ are schematically shown in FIGS. 5-8. Thebase 25′, according to such alternate embodiments, includes a plurality(e.g., three in the illustrated embodiment) of arcuate panels 82, eachpivotally coupled by a hinge 84 or other adjustable fastener to staticportion 86 of the base 25′ to which the arms 22 are coupled. Each panel82 has an arcuate shape across a lateral dimension, to formapproximately one third (⅓) of the total circumference of thesubstantially-tubular base 25′ when adjusted to the stowedconfiguration. In the stowed configuration, each panel 82 extendssubstantially vertically upward from the static portion 86 of the base25′ to define an internal chamber 88 into which the arms 22, andoptionally the bulbs 14, are at least partially recessed while thedecontamination apparatus 10 is in the stowed configuration.Inward-facing surfaces of each panel 82 can optionally be coated with,or otherwise formed from a light-colored material (e.g., white, offwhite, cream, light gray, etc. . . . ) and/or a reflective material(e.g., metallic, reflective plastic, etc. . . . ) to enhance thereflectivity of UVC light emitted by the bulbs 14 while at leastpartially recessed in the chamber 88. Thus, in the stowed configurationafter being used to decontaminate a surface in a hospital room, forexample, where the inward-facing surfaces of the panels 82 could beexposed to a biologically-active pathogen, the bulbs 14 can be activatedto emit UVC light. This UVC light will be reflected by the inward-facingsurfaces of the panels 82, thereby promoting complete exposure of theentire internal periphery of the chamber 88. Such activation of thebulbs 14 can decontaminate the inward-facing surfaces of the panels 82,thereby mitigate the risk of spreading the pathogen from one environmentto another as the decontamination apparatus 10 is transported therebetween.

The base 25′ can be converted from the stowed configuration to adeployed configuration, shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in which thedecontamination apparatus 10 is ready for use. Such a conversion can beachieved by pivotally adjusting the panels 82 about their respectivehinges 84, such that the panels 82 extend downward from the staticportion 86 at an angle (e.g., between about 45° and 90° fromhorizontal). The inward-facing surfaces of the panels 82 are adjusted tobecome substantially outward-facing surfaces in the deployedconfiguration, thereby exposing those surfaces to the elements withinthe room in which the decontamination apparatus 10 is located. In thedeployed configuration, the panels 82 act as legs that separate thestatic portion 86 from an underlying ground surface, and elevate thestatic portion 86 and arms 22 to a height above the underlying groundsurface suitable for performing the desired decontamination process.

The reflective shield 18 in FIG. 2 includes an arcuate or paneled region34 that is configured to reflect UVC light emitted upwardly from thebulbs 14 in a downward direction, generally towards the tray table 5where the UVC light can decontaminate the exposed surfaces thereof. Thearcuate or paneled region 34 can include a continuous curvature inmultiple planes or a plurality planar and reflective structures arrangedto form a somewhat curved profile to achieve the desired light patternfor the tray table 5 or other object being decontaminated. For example,and as schematically illustrated in FIGS. 9-11, the reflective shield 18can include a reflective surface 94 that faces the bulbs 14 that has agradually varying, or at least a variable, radius of curvature in atransverse direction relative to a longitudinal axis 47 along the lengthof that longitudinal axis 47 (FIG. 2). For example, the radius ofcurvature of the reflective surface of the reflective shield 18 can begreatest at a central region 96 (FIG. 11) adjacent to the location of afocal indicator 40, described below. The radius of curvature in thetransverse direction is less than the radius of curvature at thiscentral region at locations further toward opposite, longitudinal ends46 of the reflective shield 18 along the longitudinal axis 47. Theradius of curvature can optionally be the smallest at those longitudinalends 46. Although the radius of curvature is used to describe the shapeof the reflective surface of the reflective shield 18, it is to beunderstood that the cross-sectional shape of the reflective surface doesnot necessarily have a constant radius of curvature. In other words, thecross sectional shape of the reflective surface 94 taken along line10-10 in FIG. 9, a cross section that is depicted in FIG. 10, can be adownward-opening parabolic shape, or other desired arcuate shape thatmore-narrowly focuses UVC light emitted by the bulbs 14 in thetransverse direction adjacent to the longitudinal ends 46 than adjacentto the central region along the longitudinal axis 47.

To help with adjustment of the housing 20 and/or reflective shield 18, afocal indicator 40 can optionally be provided to the reflective shield18 and/or housing 20. Locating the focal indicator 40 between the UVCbulbs 14 as shown in FIG. 2 allows the focal indicator to identify ageneral direction that is representative of the direction in which theUVC light from the UVC bulbs 14 will be focused. The focal indicator 40can include a light emitting diode (“LED”), laser light, or otheroptical indicator that can project light that will illuminate a regionof a surface on which the UVC light from the UVC bulbs 14 is centered.An example of such a region is illustrated in FIG. 1 by the broken lines45 appearing on the tray table 5. Thus, a user can essentially aim theUVC light toward the surfaces to be rendered pathogen reduced, and get asense of the portion of the tray table 5 that will be suitably exposedto the UVC light during a decontamination apparatus to be consideredpathogen reduced within a predetermined period of time for the power ofthe bulbs 14 employed.

FIG. 8 shows an alternate embodiment of the reflective shield 18′.Unlike the embodiments described above involving a separate reflectiveshield 18 provided to each source 12, the present embodiment includes acollapsible shield 18′ that is configured to reflect UVC light emittedby a plurality (e.g., two illustrated in FIG. 8) of bulbs 14. As shown,the reflective collapsible shield 18′ includes an aluminized orotherwise metalized Mylar (e.g., stretched polyester film, also commonlyreferred to as biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate or “BoPET”,for short) sheet 90 spanning a distance between poles 92 extending indifferent, optionally diverging or opposite directions from the staticportion 86 of the base 25′. Mylar is one example of a suitablereflective surface that is collapsible, but the present disclosure isnot so limited, as any reflective surface that can be collapsed to fitwithin the chamber 88 of the base 25′ in the stowed configuration willsuffice. One or each of the poles 92 can optionally be spring biased,urged by gravity or otherwise urged toward their diverging orientationsin which the sheet 90 is pulled substantially taut to form a reflectivesurface extending between the poles 92. To convert the decontaminationapparatus 10 to its stowed configuration, the poles 92 are adjustedtoward each other, allowing the sheet 90 to be folded in a fan-likemanner to fit within the chamber 88 formed by the panels 82 of the base25′, as shown in FIG. 6.

The embodiment of the source 12 shown in FIG. 2 includes a plurality ofelongated UVC bulbs 14 that emit UVC light as the disinfecting agent.Since such a source 12 emits only UVC light, it is dedicated forperforming the decontamination process described herein. But regardlessof the configuration of the UVC bulbs 14, the source 12 can optionallyinclude an intensity sensor 48 that senses an intensity of the UVC lightemitted by each UVC bulb 14 present. For the sake of brevity, thepresent technology will be described hereinafter with reference to theelongated UVC bulbs 14, although any other desired configuration of UVCbulb is a viable alternative. The intensity of the UVC light emitted bythe UVC bulbs 14 will diminish over time. To promote thoroughdecontamination of the exposed surfaces in the room 1 with a reasonablecycle time for the decontamination process, the intensity sensors 48include a photosensitive component such as a photodiode, charge coupleddevice, etc. . . . , operatively coupled to the controller 16 to monitorthe intensity of the UVC light from the UVC bulbs 14. A signalindicative of the sensed intensity is transmitted to the controller 16,which is operatively connected to at least receive signals transmittedby the intensity sensor 48 and the sensors of the redundant occupantsensing system as described below. Based at least in part on the signalfrom the intensity sensor 48, the controller 16 can issue a notificationthat one or more of the UVC bulbs 14 is nearing the end of its usefullife, and should be replaced. Such a notification can include theillumination of a visible indicator in the form of a LED 50 provided tothe source 12 itself, or to an appropriate LED 52 (FIG. 4) provided tothe controller 16, which can optionally be remotely located from thesource 12 but in communication with the source 12 via a communicationchannel such as a hardwired or wireless connection, or optionallyintegrated as part of the source 12 itself. According to alternateembodiments, the controller 16 can optionally be in wirelesscommunication with a portable fob 17 (FIG. 1) having limited controlfeatures. For the illustrated embodiment appearing in FIG. 1, forexample, the portable fob 17 allows an operator to issue a START commandby selecting a start button 19 to commence a decontamination cycle froma location that is remote (e.g., externally of the room in which thedecontamination apparatus 10 is located) from the decontaminationapparatus 10. The portable fob 17 and/or the controller 16 canoptionally be configured to commence decontamination cycles of varyingdurations based, at least in part, on the number of times the startbutton 19 is selected. Although the illustrated embodiment of theportable fob 17 in FIG. 1 includes a start button 19, it can optionallylack a stop button or any other feature that would allow the operator toterminate the decontamination cycle, on demand, from the remotelocation.

FIG. 3 shows a partially-cutaway side view of the source 12 taken alongline 3-3 in FIG. 2. To promote the longevity of the UVC bulbs 14provided to the source 12, a coupling 77 is arranged between the housing20 and the hinge 32. The coupling 77 defines an interior passage 79 inwhich an electric fan 81 is located. The Electric fan 81 can be poweredwith electric energy supplied by the battery bank 37, with electricenergy supplied from the AC mains wall outlet, etc. . . . to directcooling air over the UVC bulbs 14.

Further, one or a plurality of proximity sensors 58, interchangeablyreferred to as range sensors 58, can be arranged, optionally as anarray, to sense a proximity of the housing, which is indicative of theproximity of the bulbs 14, to the tray table 5 or other object to berendered pathogen reduced. For example, the proximity sensors 58 cansense light from a light source that is reflected from the tray table 5to determine the approximate spacing of the housing and 20 and/or bulbs14 from the tray table 5. Other embodiments of the proximity sensors 59can utilize a sensed capacitance value to determine such a proximity.According to yet other embodiments, an ultrasonic range finder includesan ultrasonic transceiver that emits high-frequency sound waves (e.g.,frequencies, such as those above 20 kHz, or otherwise above the upperlimit of the human audio spectrum) and evaluates the echo which isreceived back by the sensor 58, measuring the time interval betweensending the signal and receiving the echo to determine the distance tothe object to be rendered pathogen reduced. Regardless of the technologyutilized, arranging the proximity sensors 58 in an array or at leastpositioning one proximity sensor 58 at a known location promotes properpositioning of the bulbs 14 relative to the surface of the tray table 5to achieve the desired level of decontamination utilizing adecontamination process with a predetermined duration. In other words, ascenario where one end of each bulb 14 is relatively close to thesurface of the tray table 5 and the other, opposite end of each bulb 14is relatively far from the surface of the tray table can be avoidedthrough use of the proximity sensors 58. If a significant departure fromthe uniform spacing of the bulbs 14 from the tray table 5 is detected, awarning can be audibly broadcast from a speaker 61 provided to thecontroller 16, presented as the illumination of a LED on the controllerand/or the offending source 12, etc. . . . to help the operatorcorrectly orient the source 12.

According to other embodiments, the proximity sensors 58 can be utilizedto ensure the source 12 is positioned close enough to the tray table 5to achieve the desired level of decontamination during performance ofthe decontamination process. The controller 16 can optionally beconfigured to automatically (e.g., without human intervention directedspecifically toward specifying the length of the decontaminationprocess) adjust the duration of the decontamination process based, atleast in part, on the distance separating the source 12 from the traytable 5. For example, the one or more proximity sensors 58 senses adistance separating the tray table 5 from the source 12, and transmits asignal indicative of this distance to the controller 16. Based on thissignal, the controller 16 can determine the approximate value of theseparation, and determine a length of the decontamination process suchthat the desired level of decontamination is achieved once thedecontamination with the adjusted length is completed. As a specificexample, based on the signal from the proximity sensor(s) 58, thecontroller 16 can determine whether the source 12, or at least the bulbs14 are within eighteen (18 in.) inches of the tray table 5. If so, arange indicator 49 such as the LED shown in FIG. 2 provided to thesource 12 can be illuminated green to indicate that the source 12 issufficiently close to the tray table 5 for a sixty (60 sec.) seconddecontamination process. The controller 16 can then initialize aninternal timer to sixty (60 sec.) seconds so the controller 16 canterminate the decontamination process sixty (60 sec.) seconds after thedecontamination process began. Likewise, if the controller 16 determinesthat the source 12 is separated from the tray table 5 by a distancegreater than eighteen (18 in.) inches, but less than twenty four (24in.) inches, the range indicator 49 can be illuminated yellow and thecontroller can initialize the timer for a ninety (90 sec.) seconddecontamination process.

The embodiments described above utilize one or a plurality of electronicproximity sensors 58 that use a sensed capacitance value, reflectedlight, reflected sound and the like to determine the distance separatingthe bulbs 14 from the tray table 5. However, other embodiments of thedecontamination apparatus 10 can include a probe 58′ that can be usedinstead of, or optionally in addition to the proximity sensor(s) 58 toestablish a separation of a suitable distance between the bulbs 14 andthe tray table 5 surface to achieve the desired level ofdecontamination. The probe 58′ can be an elongated finger that ispivotally coupled to the housing 20. As the bulbs 14 supported adjacentto that housing 20 are being positioned relative to the tray table 5,the probe 58′ is pivoted relative to the housing 20 to extending towardthe tray table 5, in a direction that is approximately perpendicular toa plane in which the bulbs 14 are arranged. Establishing contact betweena distal tip 71 of the probe 58′ and the tray table 15 establishes aseparation between the tray table 5 and the bulbs 14 that is apredetermined distance approximately equal to a length of the probe 58′.

In addition to, or instead of adjusting the duration of thedecontamination process based on the proximity of the source 12 relativeto the tray table 5, the controller 16 can be adapted to adjust theduration of the decontamination process based, at least in part, on theintensity of the UVC light emitted by the bulbs 14 as detected by theintensity sensor(s) 48. For example, if the source 12 is separated fromthe tray table 5 by a distance of less than 18 inches, but the intensityof the UVC light from the bulbs 14 has declined to a value ofapproximately 80% of the intensity of the UVC light originally emittedby the bulbs 14, when new, the controller cause the range indicator 49to be illuminated yellow and set the duration of the decontaminationprocess to be ninety (90 sec.) seconds.

For embodiments where the controller 16 is located remotely (e.g., notphysically connected to or supported by the base or other portion of thedecontamination apparatus 10) from the decontamination apparatus 10, thecontroller can optionally be supported on a wall of the room 1, forexample. For such embodiments, the controller 16 can be wirelesslyconnected to communicate with a transceiver provided in place of thecontroller 16 on the decontamination apparatus.

The redundant occupant sensing system includes a plurality of sensorsthat each independently senses a different property indicative of thepresence or absence of a room occupant. With reference once again toFIG. 1, the redundant occupant sensing system includes a door sensor 54that is operatively connected to communicate with the controller 16 viaa wireless (e.g., Bluetooth, IEEE 802.1x, other short-rangecommunication protocol, etc. . . . ) communication channel and detects astatus of the door 6 as being open and/or closed. The door sensor 54transmits a signal to be received by the controller 16, which caninterpret the signal to determine if the door 6 is open, closed, or haschanged from open to closed or closed to open. The signal can beembodied by the transmission of an electric signal over a wirelesscommunication channel, or a hardwired connection between the door sensor54 and the controller 16, or the interruption or establishment of asignal received by the controller 16.

Other sensors included in the redundant occupant sensing system canlikewise be positioned at appropriate locations within the room 1, suchas integrated into the controller 16, to detect other properties thatwould indicate the presence or absence of an occupant. Such othersensors can be discrete sensors, or integrated into a common sensorassembly, which can optionally be housed as part of the controller 16 asshown in FIG. 4 (sensors integrated into the controller 16 in FIG. 4 arerepresented schematically as broken lines). Regardless of their locationand configuration, each of the plurality of sensors in the redundantoccupant sensing system must sense a property that the room 1 isunoccupied and communicate this status to the controller 16 before thedecontamination process can begin as described below. The unoccupiedstatus, as sensed by the redundant occupant sensing system, must also bemaintained while the source(s) 12 of the decontamination apparatus 10is/are operational, otherwise the controller 16 will terminate operationof operational sources 12.

An example of another of the sensors included in the integrated sensorassembly of the redundant occupant sensing system is an immediateproximity sensor 51 that can detect the presence of an occupant within apredetermined distance from the decontamination apparatus 10 withoutmaking physical contact with the occupant. The proximity sensor canutilize any suitable technology such as an electromagnetic field orelectromagnetic radiation (infrared, for instance), to determine thedistance of an object such as an occupant from the proximity sensor 51to determine whether the room 1 is occupied. Such a sensor operates bymonitoring the electromagnetic field or evaluating the return signal forchanges, which would be indicative of the presence of an occupant. Yetother embodiments can utilize an optical sensor that relies on reflectedlight or the interruption of a beam of light to detect the presence ofan occupant, or a capacitive sensor that senses changes in the value ofa capacitance sensed within a region of the room 1 where an occupant islikely to be located. Regardless of the sensing mechanism utilized, theproximity sensor signals transmitted to the controller 16 identifychanges in the proximity sensor signal that indicate a change hasoccurred since an earlier proximity sensor signal was transmitted (e.g.,when the proximity sensor 51 was normalized under known conditions, suchas when the room was unoccupied and the decontamination apparatus 10 wasinitially powered on).

Another sensor that can optionally be included as part of the integratedsensor assembly is a sound sensor 55. The sound sensor can include amicrophone or other sound-sensitive circuit that transmits a signalindicative of the magnitude and/or frequency of sounds audible withinthe room 1. Similar to the proximity sensor 51 and the other sensors ofthe redundant occupant sensing system, the sound sensor 55 isoperatively connected to communicate with the controller 16 and transmitsignals to the controller 16 that are interpretable to indicate changesin the sound level within the bathroom 1. These changes can be relativeto the sound level within the room 1 at a time of an earlier sound levelis measured, or when the sound sensor 55 is normalized such as when thesystem is initially powered on when the room is known to be unoccupied.

A light sensor 57 can also optionally be included as part of the sensorassembly to detect changes in light within the room 1. The light sensor57 can include a photosensitive component such as a photodiode, chargecoupled device, etc. . . . , that monitors the intensity of visiblelight and/or UVC light within the room. Again, a signal indicative ofthe sensed light levels within the room 1 is transmitted to thecontroller 16, which can determine whether a change in light level hasoccurred, which would suggest an occupant has entered the room 1.Contrarily, the light sensor 57 can also sense dramatic reductions inthe light within the room 1, and optionally such reductions throughoutthe entirety of the room 1 (e.g., by utilizing a plurality of lightsensors 57 facing different directions). The controller 16 can beinitialized and configured to initiate the decontamination process undersuch circumstances, based on the assumption that the ambient lighting inthe room 1 has been turned off when the last occupant has left asdescribed below.

Further, a motion sensor 65 can also optionally be included in thesensor assembly to sense movement within the room 1. Such motion sensors65 can be sense a property such as changes in the thermal signature atvarious locations within the room 1. Utilizing the temperature gradientsto detect motion is advantageous in that inanimate movement in the room(e.g., a towel falling from a rack) will not trigger the motion sensor65 to transmit a signal indicative of movement. Other embodiments of themotion sensor 65 include a photoelectric sensor that utilizes a beam oflight or and laser that travels from a source to a detector. When anoccupant crosses the path of light, the light is blocked and the sensordetects the obstruction. Such motion sensors 65 can optionally bepositioned at particularly revealing locations such as approximately 1-3ft. above the floor at the door 6, for example. Projecting a beam oflight at such a location will almost certainly be broken if an occupantenters the room 1 through the door 6.

Certain embodiments of the decontamination system 10 will include atleast one of the aforementioned sensors (door, proximity, sound, lightand movement), and optionally a plurality, or all of these sensors.However, alternate embodiments can utilize any other suitable sensor(s)that can transmit a signal indicative of the presence of a livingoccupant within the room 1 without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, a carbon dioxide sensor can be utilizedto sense a change in the carbon dioxide level in the room 1 cause by anoccupant exhaling. Other embodiments can utilize a heartbeat monitorthat can remotely sense the pulses of a beating heart without makingphysical contact with an occupant. Yet other embodiments can utilize apressure sensor operatively connected to the bed 4 to sense when anoccupant is resting thereon, for example.

An illustrative embodiment of the controller 16 is shown in FIG. 4. Asshown, the controller 16 includes a focus button 85 that, when pushed,temporarily energizes or otherwise activates the focal indicator 40 toilluminate that portion of the tray table 5 that is to bedecontaminated. Also included are manual override buttons 60, 62 that,when pressed, cause the decontamination process to be manually initiatedand stopped on demand, respectively. If the start button 60 is selected,the controller 16 implements a delay of a predetermined duration (e.g.,10 seconds) that is sufficient to allow the person who pressed the startbutton 60 to exit the room 1 before the UVC bulbs 14 are illuminated aspart of the decontamination process. An audible warning such as arepeating beep can be broadcast by a speaker 61 provided to thecontroller 16 to warn of the impending start of the decontaminationprocess. As mentioned above, the start button 19 on the fob 17 canoptionally be selected once the operator has exited the room 1 instead,thereby remotely activating the decontamination cycle.

According to alternate embodiments, however, the controller 16 canoptionally be configured to operate in an occupied mode, in which theone or plurality of sensors of the occupant sensing system aredeactivated to allow the sources 12 to remain active in the room 1 whilethe room 1 is occupied by a person. Under certain circumstances,personnel may where personal protective equipment (“PPE”) that shieldstheir person from UVC light emitted by the sources 12. The PPE allowspersonnel to safely work in the environment of the tray table 5 or othersurface being decontaminated while the decontamination apparatus 10 isoperational without the risk of being exposed to significant levels ofUVC light. In an effort to prevent operation of the decontaminationapparatus 10 in the occupied mode, each person wearing PPE within theroom 1 while the decontamination apparatus 10 is active can wear orpossess a badge that can be wirelessly detected within the room 1 by thedecontamination apparatus 10. Movement by personnel equipped with thebadge can be ignored by the controller 16 such that the controller 16will not prematurely terminate the decontamination cycle. If, however,movement is sensed outside of the vicinity of such a badge (e.g.,movement occurs in a region of the room 1 where a badge is not alsopresent or at least nearby), the controller 16 can determine that anunprotected occupant has entered the room and terminate thedecontamination cycle. Thus, in use, personnel can optionally wear thePPE and activate the decontamination apparatus 10 in the occupied modewhile continuing to safely work within the room 1 in which thedecontamination apparatus 10 is located. Alternately, thedecontamination apparatus 10 can be activated in a standard mode, eitherlocally with a delay or remotely from outside of the room 1, and thedecontamination apparatus 10 can remain active unless the controller 16senses the presence of an occupant.

Following the expiration of the delay, each of the sensors included inthe redundant occupant sensing system is normalized, indicating a statewhere it is assumed that the room 1 is unoccupied. If, at any timeduring the decontamination process any of the sensors senses a propertythat is indicative of a change from the state in which the sensors werenormalized, the controller 16 determines that the room has becomeoccupied, and immediately terminates the decontamination process. Toidentify the cause of termination, one or a plurality of labeled visibleindicators 64 such as discrete LEDs, a liquid crystal display (“LCD”),or any other suitable notification device provided to the controller 16can be activated. For example, the proximity indicator 66 can beilluminated to indicate that the proximity sensor triggered termination;the sound indicator 68 can be illuminated to indicate that the soundsensor triggered termination; the light indicator 70 can be illuminatedto indicate that the light sensor triggered termination; the motionindicator 72 can be illuminated to indicate that the motion sensortriggered termination; and the door indicator 74 can be illuminated toindicate that the door sensor 54 triggered termination. The specificvisible indicators 64 included as part of the controller 16 cancorrespond to the specific sensors present.

Rather than being activated remotely utilizing the fob 17 or locallywith the delay, the decontamination apparatus 10 (specifically, thecontroller 16) can optionally be configured to initiate adecontamination process in response to sensing a change in the sensedlight levels in its ambient environment according to alternateembodiments. For example, the controller 16 can optionally beinitialized through pressing the start button 19 on the fob 17 threetimes in quick succession. In response to receiving such a communicationfrom the fob 17, the controller 16 can enter a standby mode and sensethe current light level in the room 1. In response to sensing a dramaticdrop in the light level relative to the originally-sensed light level,the controller 16 can optionally sound an audible alarm during the delaybefore subsequently energizing the bulbs 14.

Regardless of the operational mode of the decontamination apparatus 10,if premature termination of the decontamination process occurs beforethe decontamination process is complete (e.g., before the UVC bulbs 14have been illuminated for the time required to achieve the desired levelof pathogen reduction), a cycle status indicator 75 can be illuminatedin a manner indicative of such termination. For example, the cyclestatus indicator 75 can be illuminated red, and/or made to flash to callan operator's attention to the premature termination of thedecontamination process. The manual pressing of a reset button 76 can berequired by the controller 16 before the decontamination process can berestarted. Requiring the reset button 76 to be pushed will allow anoperator to ensure that the condition resulting in termination of thedecontamination apparatus has been cleared before resetting thecontroller 16. According to alternate embodiments, the cycle statusindicator 75 can optionally be provided to the housing 20 of each source12 as shown in FIG. 2. If a decontamination process is interrupted, eachspecific source 12 that was interrupted and did not successfullycomplete the decontamination process can be identified through the stateof the cycle status indicator 75 thereon.

Premature termination of the decontamination apparatus can be saved in alog stored on a computer-readable medium (e.g., SD card inserted into SDcard port 80 provided to the controller 16, built in hard drive or othernon-transitory computer-readable medium provided to the controller 16,remote hard drive or other non-transitory medium remotely located over ahospital communication network) in communication with the controller 16.Such a log can maintain data concerning the cause of an interruption, atime of an interruption, information indicative of the specific room inwhich premature termination of the decontamination process occurred, andany other data pertaining to the decontaminated state of the room 1.Such data can be utilized to diagnose problems such as a faulty sensorincluded in the redundant occupant sensing system, and to promoteregular decontamination of the room 1.

The controller 16 can optionally be configured to restart aprematurely-terminated decontamination cycle without manual userintervention. For example, once all of the conditions sensed by thesensors in the redundant occupant sensing system return to theirnormalized values, the controller 16 can initiate a timer to establish arestart delay. If all of the conditions remain at their normalizedvalues for the duration of the restart delay, the controller 16 canautomatically restart the decontamination process by once againactivating the UVC bulbs 14 for the predetermined cycle time. Thisprocess of restarting the decontamination process can optionally berepeated until the decontamination process has been completedsuccessfully. If an automatically restarted decontamination process issuccessfully completed, the cycle status indicator 75 can reflect thesuccessful completion of the decontamination process.

In the absence of any conditions interrupting the decontaminationprocess, the decontamination process will remain active, with the UVCbulbs 14 illuminated and the redundant occupant sensing systemmonitoring conditions within the room 1 for any changes that wouldindicate the entrance of an occupant for a predetermined cycle time. Thepredetermined cycle time can be manually input and programmed into thecontroller 16 via a timer input system 78 provided to the controller 16,or can be established through an administration terminal and deliveredto the controller 16 via a portable computer-readable medium such as anSD card inserted into an SD card slot 80 provided to the controller 16.

According to alternate embodiments, actions such as adjusting theduration of the decontamination process and actions other than manuallyinitiating the decontamination process can be carried out over acommunication network from a remotely-located administration terminal.The cycle time can be independently established to a custom duration foreach object to be decontaminated depending on factors such as the sizeof the room, the number and intensity of the UVC bulbs 14 to beutilized, the distance separating the source 12 from the surface beingdecontaminated, etc. . . . to achieve the level of decontaminationdesired to be achieved. For instance,

According to alternate embodiments, a default value that can be used formost installations can be utilized. The default value can be selected tobe “overkill”, meaning that the default duration will be longer thanrequired to achieve the desired level of decontamination for mostinstallations based, at least in part, on assumptions about the size ofthe room, the number and intensity of the UVC bulbs 14 to be utilized,the distance separating the source 12 from the surfaces to bedecontaminated, etc. . . .

Once the decontamination process has been successfully completed, thecycle status indicator 75 can be illuminated as a solid (i.e.,non-flashing) green color or otherwise notify an observer that thedecontamination process has been successfully completed. Additionally,successful completion of the decontamination process can be logged onthe computer-readable medium in communication with the controller 16,documenting a time when the room was last successfully decontaminated.

Illustrative embodiments have been described, hereinabove. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that the above devices and methodsmay incorporate changes and modifications without departing from thegeneral scope of this invention. It is intended to include all suchmodifications and alterations within the scope of the present invention.Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in eitherthe detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising”is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A decontamination apparatus capable of reducingcontaminants by at least a 1 log₁₀ reduction of contagions on a surfacecomprising: a base; a source that emits UVC light at a suitableintensity to at least partially decontaminate a target object on whichthe UVC light is imparted to render the target object pathogen reduced;an adjustable support coupled to the base that supports the source, theadjustable support comprising an adjustment mechanism that ismanipulable to adjust a position of the source relative to the base; aredundant occupant sensing system configured to determine the presenceof an indicator; and a controller that is in communication with theredundant occupant sensing system and is operatively connected to thesource to control a decontamination cycle, wherein the controller isconfigured to terminate the decontamination cycle when an indicator isdetected.
 2. The decontamination apparatus of claim 1, wherein theredundant occupant sensing system further comprises a plurality ofsensors configured to detect an indicator related to an occupant.
 3. Thedecontamination apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of sensorscomprises: at least one proximity sensor that is configured to sensemovement within a predetermined distance from the decontaminationapparatus; at least one sound sensor that is configured to sense audiblesounds within the predetermined distance from the decontaminationapparatus; at least one light sensor that is configured to sense changesin light within the predetermined distance from the decontaminationapparatus; and at least one door sensor that is configured to determineif a door has changed from closed to open or open to closed.
 4. Thedecontamination apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least one of theplurality of sensors can be deactivated.
 5. The decontaminationapparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to allow thesource to operate when an indicator is detected.
 6. The decontaminationapparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to restartthe decontamination cycle when an indicator is no longer detected withina predetermined proximity of the decontamination apparatus.
 7. Thedecontamination device of claim 1, wherein the controller is incommunication with a computer-readable medium capable of storing arecord of the decontamination cycle.
 8. The decontamination apparatus ofclaim 7, wherein the computer-readable medium is at least one of an SDcard configured to be inserted into an SD card port on the controller, ahard drive built into the controller, a non-transitory computer-readablemedium provided to the controller, a remote hard drive located over acommunication network, or a non-transitory medium remotely located overa communication network.
 9. The decontamination apparatus of claim 7,wherein the computer-readable medium is configured to log a record ofthe decontamination cycle to document a time when the decontaminationcycle was completed.
 10. The decontamination apparatus of claim 7,wherein the computer-readable medium is configured to log a record ofpremature termination of the decontamination cycle.
 11. Thedecontamination apparatus of claim 10, wherein the record of prematuretermination comprises data concerning at least one of a cause of aninterruption, a time of an interruption, and information indicative of aspecific location in which an interruption occurred.
 12. Thedecontamination apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is capableof reducing contaminants by at least a 3 log10 reduction of contagionson a surface.
 13. The decontamination apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is located remotely from the decontamination apparatus. 14.The decontamination apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controllerwirelessly communicates with the decontamination apparatus.
 15. Thedecontamination apparatus of claim 14 further comprising a transceiver.16. The decontamination apparatus of claim 15, wherein the transceiverwirelessly communicates with the controller.